The Bloomberg administration announced recently it had selected Alta Bicycle Share, a Portland, Ore. Company, to run an ambitious bike-share program in New York City, but don't break out the spandex cycling shorts just yet.

彭博市政府最近宣布，已選擇俄勒岡州波特蘭市的阿爾塔自行車共享公司，負責推動紐約市雄心勃勃的公共自行車計畫，但最好先別忙著打開彈性騎車短褲。

Amid unease about exactly how the city will integrate 600 rental stations and 10,000 bicycles into the crowded streets and sidewalks of New York, the official rollout date of the program has been pushed back until the summer of 2012. Many other kinks and details are still to be worked out, like the pricing structure and the exact locations of the rental stations. Also missing are the requisite major sponsors to help defray the cost of the program. But when fully implemented, the program would become the largest bike-share effort in the country.

在紐約市正因不知如何在早已壅塞不堪的街道和人行道上整合1萬部自行車和600個租借站而煩惱之際，這項計畫正式上路日期已延到明年夏天。還有一大堆細節未定，像價格結構及租借站確切地點等。還要找主力贊助廠商，以幫忙降低計畫成本。但全面上路實施後，這將是全美規模最大的公共自行車計畫。

The bicycles were not built for speed: they have only three gears, and none of them are fast. “It's a heavy bike. It can handle the city streets pretty well,” said Caroline Sampanaro, who works for the advocacy group Transportation Alternatives and who has ridden these types of bikes in Paris and Washington. “It's designed so even the very best bike rider can only go so fast.”

這些自行車打造時不強調速度：它們只有三段變速，但都不快。在宣導團體「另類交通工具」工作、並曾在巴黎和華盛頓試騎過這幾款自行車的卡洛琳．山帕那洛表示：「這種重型自行車在紐約街道可暢行無阻，它獨特的設計，就連最棒的自行車高手也不能高速飆車。」

The program will encourage participants to purchase long- or short-term memberships that include an unlimited number of trips of up to 45 minutes; additional fees will apply for longer trips. A yearly membership will cost $100 or less; other pricing details have yet to be made final. The rental stations will be situated in Manhattan, south of 79th Street, and in selected neighborhoods in Brooklyn. Alta said it was exploring options for adding stations in other areas of the city.

該計畫將鼓勵參加者購買長期或短期會員證，會員可不限次數租借，但每次最長45分鐘，超過45分鐘則另外計費。會員年費不到100美元（約台幣3032元），其他收費細節尚待敲定。租借站將設在曼哈頓79街以南，並挑選了布魯克林幾個街區。阿爾塔公司說，它們還在紐約市其他地區尋找設站點。

During Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's tenure, New York's streets have gradually been transformed, becoming ever more hospitable to pedestrians and bicyclists. In the last four years, the mayor's transportation commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan, has rolled out 250 miles of bike lanes, and the bike-share program has been seen as another central element of the administration's vision for the city.

在彭博市長任內，紐約市街道已逐步改善，變得對行人和自行車騎士愈來愈友善。過去4年來，紐約市主管交通的珍妮特．沙迪康已規畫了250英里長的自行車道，公共自行車計畫也被視為市府願景的另一核心要素。

Alison Cohen, president of Alta Bicycle Share, said that she was trying to find $50 million to run the program, characterizing sponsorship as “an unparalleled opportunity for instant exposure.”She said,“Bike share is a new form of public transportation that will help connect New Yorkers to their own neighborhoods, to other neighborhoods and to public transit. At the same time, it will make New York City a healthier, cleaner, greener and safer place.”

阿爾塔自行車共享公司的總裁艾莉森．科恩表示，她將嘗試籌募5千萬美元推動這項計畫，並稱贊助廠商「將得到空前即時曝光的良機。」她並說：「公共自行車是一種新式大眾運輸工具，這將有助於紐約人和自己的社區、其他社區及公共運輸系統連結。同時，它將使紐約市變成一個更健康、清潔、環保、安全的地方。」

Sadik-Khan has worked for years to convince skeptics in and out of City Hall that bike sharing would be a positive addition to the city streets. An announcement was held up this summer after a behind-the-scenes tiff with the City Council that was resolved after the city agreed to hold public hearings and allow the Council some oversight on the program.

沙迪康為了說服市府內外質疑公共自行車計畫的人而奔走多年。她強調，這對紐約市的街容將有加分效果。原本今年夏天就要宣布的計畫延擱至今，是因府會之間的暗中角力，在市府同意就此案舉行公聽會，並讓市議會掌握部分監督權之後，總算化解彼此心結。

Nonetheless, the program is scheduled to move forward; Alta will conduct a limited test in the spring, employing a smaller number of stations at sites yet to be chosen. Seth Solomonow, a spokesman for the Transportation Department, said the agency would “work with communities on locations” for kiosks, “with the intent of siting them primarily on sidewalks, plazas and other public areas.” He added that in some neighborhoods the city might use “locations in what are currently parking spaces.”

但這項方案仍將依規畫推動：阿爾塔公司明春將在幾個迄未確定的租借站進行局部測試。市府運輸局發言人索洛莫諾說，該局將「和社區合作挑選適當地點」設租借站，「主要鎖定人行道、廣場和其他公共場所。」他並說，在某些街區，市府可能徵用「現有停車場設點」。

“With bike share, we're reinventing the wheel by providing an affordable transportation option that's there when you want it,” said Sadik-Khan. “Whether it's covering the last quarter mile from the subway or reaching that dead zone between stations, bike share offers a great, new way to get around in a minute and will bring needed jobs and revenue to the city.” Photo shows New York city residents looking at a demonstration of a new bicycle sharing station, which will start next year.

沙迪康說：「公共自行車上路後，我們不啻賦予自行車新使命，在你有需要時，我們提供負擔得起的交通工具。無論是離地鐵站最後1/4哩路，或是兩站之間的死區，公共自行車提供一個很棒的新方式，讓你瞬間到達目的地，同時還會為這個都會創造就業機會和收入。」圖為紐約市民在觀看新的公共自行車租借站的操作示範，這項計畫明年上路。 文／紐約時報、法新社